Disposable safety garment with reduced particulate shedding

ABSTRACT

A nonwoven disposable safety garment made by cutting at least one sheet of nonwoven material into a safety garment pattern, stitching the at least one sheet to define a garment, and hemming the garment. Cut edges are twice folded and hemmed under to prevent exposure of any cut edges. Stitching is characterized by a stitch density in the range of 10 to 12 stitches per inch.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/428,728 (“APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PACKAGING NONWOVEN SAFETY GARMENTS”), filed Jul. 5, 2006, pending; and its parent, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/798,646 (“DISPOSABLE GARMENT WITH REDUCED PARTICULATE SHEDDING”), filed Mar. 11, 2004, now abandoned. Each of these is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the field of safety apparel, and more specifically to a safety garment having reduced particulate shedding properties.

BACKGROUND

Safety garments, such as disposable smocks, jumpsuits, gloves, shoe coverings, and hair coverings, are required apparel for the performance of many jobs. Some of the jobs requiring safety garments are performed in clean room environments, wherein the introduction of foreign matter must be minimized. For example, technicians in certain sensitive medical fields dealing with infectious matter, aerospace researchers assembling interplanetary probes, and material scientists developing and manufacturing ultrapure materials all wear safety garments in clean room environments. The safety garments perform the dual function of protecting the wearer from the potentially hazardous materials he is working with as well as preventing unwanted matter from the wearer's person from contaminating his work product.

Safety garments for use in clean room environments are typically made from nonwoven disposable materials, such as from sheets of spunbond/melt blown/melt blown/spunbond (SMMS) material and the like. Such sheets of material are cut into patterns and stitched together to form desired safety apparel. Typically, as these garments are intended to be disposable and the focus is on their functionality and not aesthetic appeal, little attention is paid to the hemming and stitching. The “as cut” edges are thus exposed. However, in clean room environments where contaminant levels in the parts per million or even parts per billion would be too high, such exposed cut edges present genuine sources of potential particulate contamination.

Moreover, as these garments are intended to be disposable, little effort is made to provide durable stitching. The prevalent attitude is that a garment intended to be worn for just a few hours does not require superior stitching. However, in a clean room situation or a hazardous environment such as asbestos remediation or nuclear demolition and decontamination, seam separation is not only a potential source of particulate evolution in and of itself, but also produces a pathway from the exterior to the interior of the garment through which potentially hazardous material may flow.

There thus remains a need for an improved safety garment that is more durable and less prone to particulate shedding. The present disclosure addresses these needs.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a disposable clean room safety garment, including at least one sheet of nonwoven fabric having at least one cut edge, a plurality of stitches formed in the sheet(s) of nonwoven fabric to define a garment; and hemming formed at cut edges. The nonwoven fabric is preferably formed from spunbond/melt blown material. The stitching is characterized by an optimized stitch density of between ten and twelve stitches per inch.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved safety garment. Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety garment in a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded partial view of a hemmed edge of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a safety garment in a second embodiment of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a safety garment in a third embodiment of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a safety garment in a fourth embodiment of the disclosed technology.

DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure and presenting its currently understood best mode of operation, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, with such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated embodiments and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first embodiment of the disclosed technology, a reduced particulate shedding disposable nonwoven safety garment 10. In this embodiment, safety garment 10 is formed as a smock. Safety garment 10 is preferably made from spunbond/melt blown/melt blown/spunbond (SMMS) material, spunbond/melt blown/spunbond (SMS) material, or the like, and includes double-folded and hemmed edges 12. The edges 12 are folded such that all cut edges of the non-woven material are double-folded under so as not to be exposed. Non-exposure of the edges 12 thus greatly reduces the potential for generation of shed particles where the material was cut. The seams 16 are stitched with an optimization of the number of stitches per inch (SPI), increased to 10-12 SPI over the standard 6-8 SPI. Stitch densities of 10-12 SPI have been found to be better than the lower range, as densities greater than 12 SPI weaken the non-woven material via excessive perforation and those less than 10 SPI provide a looser and weaker hem, such that particulate shedding is not minimized.

FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention, a jumpsuit 14 made from spunbond/melt blown/melt blown/spunbond (SMMS) material, spunbond/melt blown/spunbond (SMS) material, or the like. The jumpsuit 14 includes twice-folded and hemmed edges 12. As in the first embodiment, the edges 12 are folded such that all cut edges of the non-woven material are double-folded under so as not to be exposed. The seams 16 in this embodiment are stitched with an increased stitch density of 10-12 SPI over the standard 6-8 SPI. The garment also includes foot coverings 18 that are preferably stitched to the garment but may alternately be individually formed and attached, such as by an elastic band stitched into the hem at the foot opening. The garment 14 further includes an excess of material in the armpit 20 and groin/seat area 22, to minimize the risk of accidental tearing that might generate additional particulate matter that enters into the environment, and might expose the wearer to environmental hazards.

In practice, the garments 10 and 14 are made by cutting one or more sheets of nonwoven material into a desired safety garment pattern. Simple patterns (e.g., shoe coverings) may require a single sheet; more complex patterns (e.g., smocks, jumpsuits, and the like) may require two or more sheets of varying size. The sheet(s) is/are then stitched together to define a garment 10. The edges of the garment 10 are then hemmed. All cut edges are twice folded and hemmed under to prevent exposure of any cut edges that could increase the likelihood of particulate shedding. All stitching in these illustrative embodiments is characterized by a stitch density in the range of 10 to 12 stitches per inch.

FIG. 4 illustrates a third embodiment garment 24. The garment 24 of FIG. 4 is similar to that described in FIG. 1, but with the addition of loops 30 affixed to the sleeve 32 portion of the garment 24, to engage a wearer's hands so as to keep the garment 24 positioned about the wearer's body. In this embodiment, as in the foregoing embodiment of FIG. 1, the safety garment 24 is formed as a smock and is preferably made from spunbond/melt blown/melt blown/spunbond (SMMS) material, spunbond/melt blown/spunbond (SMS) material, or the like. The garment 10 includes double-folded and hemmed edges 12. The edges 12 are folded such that all cut edges of the non-woven material are double-folded under so as to not be exposed. Non-exposure of the edges 12 thus greatly reduces the potential for generation of shed particles where the material was cut. The loops 30 are likewise folded over and stitched such that there are no exposed cut edges. The seams 16 are stitched with an optimization of the number of stitches per inch (SPI), increased to 10-12 SPI over the standard 6-8 SPI.

FIG. 5 illustrates a fourth embodiment, a jumpsuit 34 similar to that of FIG. 3 with the addition of loops 30 extending from the sleeve portion 32 of the garment 34 to engage the hands of a wearer (similar to the embodiment of FIG. 4). The jumpsuit 34 is likewise preferably made from spunbond/melt blown/melt blown/spunbond (SMMS) material, spunbond/melt blown/spunbond (SMS) material, or the like. The jumpsuit 34 includes twice-folded and hemmed edges 12. As in the first embodiment, the edges 12 are folded such that all cut edges of the non-woven material are double-folded under so as to not be exposed. The loops 30 are likewise formed of the SMMS, SMS or the like and folded over and stitched such that the cut edges are not exposed. The seams 16 are stitched with 10-12 SPI. The garment also includes foot coverings 18 that are preferably stitched to the garment, but may alternately be individually formed and attached, such as by an elastic band stitched into the hem at the foot opening. The garment 34 further includes an excess of material in the armpit 20 and groin/seat area 22, to minimize the risk of accidental tearing that might generate additional particulate matter into the environment as well as expose the wearer to environmental hazards.

The loops of the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 are preferably formed with no exposed cut edges 12. In particular, each loop 30 is preferably formed from an elongated piece of cut nonwoven fabric defining a pair of generally parallel cut edges 12, and wherein the cut edges 12 are folded under and hemmed into place such that the cut edges 12 are not exposed.

While the disclosed technology has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. It is understood that the embodiments have been shown and described in the foregoing specification in satisfaction of the best mode and enablement requirements. It is understood that one of ordinary skill in the art could readily make a near infinite number of insubstantial changes and modifications to the above-described embodiments, and that it would be impractical to attempt to describe all such variations in the present specification. Accordingly, it is understood that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosed technology are desired to be protected. 

1. A nonwoven safety garment, comprising: a piece of cut spunbond/melt blown material having a plurality of cut edges; and at least one seam connecting at least two of the plurality of cut edges, together defining a garment; wherein, at one or more cut edges that are not connected at the at least one seam, the cut edges are double-folded under, then hemmed into place.
 2. The garment of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of hemmed loops extending from the garment and positioned to engage a wearer's hands.
 3. The garment of claim 2, wherein the hemmed loops are characterized by stitching that has a stitch density between ten and twelve stitches per inch.
 4. The garment of claim 1 wherein the garment further includes an elastic band disposed under a hem, and wherein the garment is shaped to form a shoe covering.
 5. A disposable clean room safety garment, comprising: at least one sheet of nonwoven fabric having at least one cut edge; a plurality of stitches formed in the at least one sheet of nonwoven fabric to define a garment with no lining; and hems formed at the at least one cut edge; wherein the nonwoven fabric is formed from spunbond/melt blown material; and the plurality of stitches and the hems are characterized by stitch densities between ten and twelve stitches per inch.
 6. The garment of claim 5 wherein: the garment further includes an elastic band disposed under a hem, and the garment is shaped to form a shoe covering.
 7. The garment of claim 5 wherein the hems are folded twice to encapsulate the at least one cut edge.
 8. The garment of claim 5, further comprising at least one hand-engaging loop.
 9. The garment of claim 8, wherein the at least one hand-engaging loop further comprises an elongated piece of cut nonwoven fabric defining a pair of generally parallel cut edges, and wherein the cut edges are folded under and hemmed into place such that the cut edges are not exposed.
 10. A method of making a safety garment, comprising the steps of: a) cutting at least one sheet of nonwoven material having at least one cut edge into a safety garment pattern; b) stitching the at least one sheet to define a garment; c) hemming the garment at the at least one cut edge; and d) attaching a hand-engaging loop to the garment; wherein all cut edges are twice folded and hemmed under to prevent exposure of any cut edge; and wherein all stitching and hemming is characterized by a stitch density in the range of 10 to 12 stitches per inch.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the nonwoven fabric is formed from spunbond/melt blown material.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the garment has no lining.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: attaching hemmed loops to the garment that extend from the garment and are positioned to engage a wearer's hands.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the hemmed loops are characterized by stitching that has a stitch density between ten and twelve stitches per inch.
 15. The method of claim 10, further comprising placing an elastic band under a hem, and wherein the garment is shaped to form a shoe covering. 